Nationhood and Loyalty in Islam: Between Dustūr al-Madīnah and the Bukit Seguntang Covenant

Abstract

This paper aims at analyzing the concept of nationhood and loyalty in Islam as enshrined in the Dustūr al-Madīnah (the Charter of Medina) and the Bukit Seguntang Covenant of the Malay world. The authors emphasize on the universal values that become salient features of the Charter of Medina and the Bukit Seguntang Covenant of the Malays. By employing the qualitative methodology, the authors apply the comparative and textual analysis method on both treatises and materials that are related to them. The findings reveal that the principles and values of both documents such as loyalty, tolerance and others are universal in nature and are not contradictory. The incongruent practices today that go against the principles mentioned in the Medina Charter and Covenant committed by Malay Muslims under the name of Islam are not representing the Islamic teachings but simply a distortion of it.